What is it like to be a child of war? How can we transform suffering with the power of compassion? In this episode, ACT psychologist Diana Hill interviews social worker and war refugee Dalya Sarkees about her experience growing up in 3 Iraqi wars, the trauma of finding a new identity in the US, and the inner and ancestral resources she leaned on to make the impossible possible. Many of us feel powerless over the world’s wars that are happening right now, one place to start is to listen to the voices of those who have suffered and who are suffering. It’s through listening that we can contact what is painful, and be motivated to act with compassion.

Listen and Learn:

• “War doesn’t define me but it shaped me”
• Doing what’s painful and what’s possible
• Emotional incongruence and trauma
• The power of childhood play
• Persistence as a value
• Leaning on the strength of your ancestors
• The refugee’s loss of identity
• Why you shouldn’t say “I know how you feel”
• Why compassion?

About Dalya Sarkees

Dalya Sarkees is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) residing in Tucson, Arizona, and practices therapy at Marana Health Clinic. Dalya came to the United States with her parents and brother in November 2009 as refugees through UNHCR. Dalya was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq to middle-upper class highly educated parents. Dalya lived through three wars: the Iraqi-Iranian war (1980-1988), the Gulf War (Desert Storm 1991) and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Dalya and her family left their home country, Iraq early 2007 and headed to Damascus, Syria, to seek safety after being a target of threats for several reasons related to the family professions and religion. Dalya also has a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Baghdad University and an associate degree in Christian theology.

Related Resources

IRC (International Rescue Committee) donations to Gaza

Abducted in Iraq, A Priest in Bagdad by Bishob Saad Sirop Hanna

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